SWINDON Town head into this weekend’s League Two fixture against Colchester United with one of the best opening-day records in English football.

Despite a slip up against Harrogate Town last term, Swindon managed to retain their top-10 status as one of the fiercest starters anywhere.

Sitting below the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, and… Forest Green Rovers, Michael Flynn’s men can boast the fifth-best record across the opening round of games over the past 10 seasons.

Since the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign, Town have won eight and lost two, accumulating 24 points in the process and often kicking their quest for glory off on the right foot. The Robins have scored 21 goals while conceding 11.

Following a 1-0 defeat away at Peterborough United in 2013 – where Britt Assombalonga’s solitary goal proved to be the difference – Swindon then rattled off eight straight victories to kick off a season.

The results were as follows; Scunthorpe (H) - 3-1 (2014), Bradford City (H) - 4-1 (2015), Coventry City (H) - 1-0 (2016), Carlisle United (A) - 2-1 (2017), Macclesfield Town (H) - 3-2 (2018), Scunthorpe (A) - 2-0 (2019), Rochdale (H) - 3-1 (2020), Scunthorpe (A) 3-1 (2021).

Unfortunately, hopes of a 100 per cent record went up in smoke away at Harrogate last year thanks to a 3-0 defeat against a team that faced a relegation battle for much of the season.

Should Swindon beat Colchester on Saturday, though, there is a chance the Wiltshire club could move joint-top of the niche table alongside Manchester City on nine wins and one defeat.

Pep Guardiola’s City did have a 100 per cent start across the most recent decade of first league matches until a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 vanquished their run. An Erling Haaland-inspired City responded to that loss by beating West Ham United 2-0 at the London Stadium in August of last year.

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Along with most other tables, City top the league with Liverpool in second place on eight wins and two draws. Forest Green are third with eight wins, one draw, and one defeat over the past decade, while Manchester United’s eight wins and two defeats places them as the final team above Town in the league.

Chelsea (sixth) and Tottenham Hotspur (seventh) are the only other Premier League outfits in the top 10, leaving Watford (Championship – eighth), Walsall (League Two – ninth), and Wycombe Wanderers (League One – 10th) to make up the elite group of hot-starting clubs.

Research by BonusCodeBets shows Town’s west-country rivals, Bristol Rovers, are the worst team in the current 92 professional clubs when it comes to picking up points on opening day. Joey Barton’s side has failed to win their first game of the season since 2011 – claiming just two points and scoring only six goals.

Town’s upcoming opponents could be labelled as draw specialists when it comes to their season debut, with Colchester having drawn seven and won just a single game in the past 10 years.

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